


Never Again

by ArgentAconit



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Based off of the Anime, F/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Not so much romance, Spoilers for 2014 series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-13
Updated: 2014-09-13
Packaged: 2018-02-17 05:47:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2298665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArgentAconit/pseuds/ArgentAconit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's been twelve days since the battle at the Palace. Twelve long days where Natsu wouldn't look at her, where he held himself together for the rest of the guild. After four nights of sneaking into Lucy's house, he finally gives into the turmoil and Lucy is there to keep him together when he can't do it himself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Never Again

**Author's Note:**

> I just wanted to say beforehand that I'm not that swell of a writer. Please if you see anything wrong with this I would love to hear about it! This is my first work for Fairy Tail, and I hope to add more stories in the future that don't include the same theme of hurt/comfort.  
> That being said, I hope you enjoy it!

It’s been like this for the last few days. Ever since the Great Magic Games things have been… Different. It took them a week to get back to Magnolia, to get back to their home and repossess the old guild. It has been five long days now, filled with repairing and cleaning and celebrating. It was hard for Lucy to get over the constant memory of watching herself get shot over and over again by Rogue but it was even harder for Natsu. The level of anger and emotion that she saw that day only made her feel worse because she had caused that to happen to him. She was the reason why Natsu had cried.

The first night after they came back, he fell asleep in the chair by her small collection of books. Happy stretched himself out on the back of the headrest and both boys sported twin trails of drool. Natsu, of course, snored obnoxiously and the sound was almost enough for Lucy to kick him out. She resisted. The repeating flashes of seeing Natsu losing control of himself that day stilled her hand and forced a quiet sigh from her body. Instead, she covered him with a spare blanket before continuing the rest of her nightly routine.

Natsu progressed from there every night since. The second night he somehow fell asleep- undoubtedly uncomfortable- sprawled across the short table in front of her bed. The cheap table strained against his weight but managed to accept the dragon for the night and again Lucy threw the spare blanket over him.

The third night he slept with his back mere inches from the frame of her bed while he was stretched out on his side, taking up as much of the floor as he possibly could. It was annoying, stepping over limbs and scarf ends to get to her bed, but she felt better knowing he was close that night. Lucy couldn't ever work up the guts to kick him out or tell him off for staying every time she found him there. She couldn't even find it in herself to be upset that he kept sneaking into her house, or even for when he snuck back out. Even if he was terrible at being quiet, even if he left the window open most mornings and nights to let the fresh air in.

Today was her day off from fixing up the guild. Lucy spent the morning cleaning up the mess that was her apartment and put away all of the new clothes she got from the royal city. She made a few premade dinners for the freezer so she didn’t have to cook on the nights that she was absolutely exhausted. Laundry was done, writing had been caught up, keys nicely polished (She gave Aquarius an extra good cleaning to make up for summoning her out of places unbefitting of a high-level spirit like her).

This left her feeling worthy of a good long bath, and she indulged herself as much as she could, filling it with bubbles and soft scented oils. It helped to take her mind off of the scars that still lingered on her body. Quietly she told herself that the rose oil would help lighten the marks and eventually fade them enough that maybe the memories accompanied by them would be given the same effect.

The sky had turned shades of purple, red and orange during her time in the bathroom. Who would have thought such a small apartment would take so long to clean? The sound of her window sliding open should have sent a bolt of anxiety crawling down her spine but somehow she knew that it was Natsu sneaking in for the night. She could hear him going through the kitchen, pouring a drink and snacking on the treats that she picked up for him. She told herself that she had picked up the snacks so she could sleep at night. Natsu's first stay had been filled with the loud groans of his stomach and she had found herself exhausted by the time the sun appeared over the valley. Happy was gliding around her room, probably reading her papers and playing with Michelle on the bookshelves.

She sat there for another ten minutes before she gave in and climbed out of the cooling water. She toweled off and changed into her freshly laundered pajamas for the night, feeling more and more human with each piece of clothing. When she walked out of the bathroom Natsu was still standing around in the doorway between her living room/bedroom and the kitchen, snack and drink finished. They didn’t need to say anything about it, especially because by now, they were both used to the company of each other. “You weren’t in the guild today."

“Master gave me the day off, I kind of needed it. This place was a mess when we got here, and I wanted it to feel like it was mine again,” She answered him, offering a delicate smile even though he wasn’t looking at her.

Happy hummed as he zipped by, diving into the plushness of the chair he had turned into his bed the last few days. He had stolen one of her pillows and there was a blanket she didn't remember owning added to the figurative nest he had created. Lucy felt like it belonged there in some way and had left it alone when she had cleaned earlier that day.

The silence between her and Natsu dragged on for what felt like hours before she turned to the bed and started to fold the covers down. “At this rate, you should start paying half of my rent,” It was meant to be teasing to try and get Natsu to perk up at least a little bit, though if the dragon thought it was a good idea she might not turn down the idea if he agreed.

Natsu’s sandals were stripped off and tucked in beside her many pairs of boots by the doorway and she could hear him stretching from across the room. Happy turned his little backpack into another pillow and settled down in the chair and Lucy smiled at the Exceed. It was nice having the company with her, even more so when it was this pair. The sleepy ‘Night Lucy’ she got in return for tucking Happy into bed was enough for her, especially when Happy just relaxed more after she stood up.

What had become Natsu’s usual blanket was folded across the foot of her bed but the pink haired wizard had yet to even move to pick it up. Something was still obviously wearing down on him and Lucy wished he would just look at her again, that he’d smile and act like the goofball he was. The distant and downtrodden look on his face twisted something in her chest and the longer he looked like that the more she wanted to snap- to say something, anything to get him to look at her.

Lucy didn't know what she had done until it already happened. She had taken his wrist and brought him over to the bed before she pushed him to sit down, and finally, he looked at her. The shocked curiosity written on his face made her the tightness in her chest loosen again, bringing the corners of her lips up into a smile. She nudged him until he moved toward the window and freed up the other edge of her bed, “I’m tired of seeing you sleeping in such uncomfortable places, and my table can’t take you sleeping on it again. Just sleep in the bed, Natsu.” He had moved out of response to her nudging and it only took a second for her to lie down on the other side of the bed, facing him and the window that turned his hair the color of persimmons. It made him look more ethereal, somehow; being bathed in that light and laying so close to her.

Lucy wormed a little closer and felt their foreheads press lightly together, the angle so similar to that day in the Palace with her future self. It must have been the breaking point for Natsu because his arms had wound themselves around her waist and she could see the clench of his jaw as he tried to hold himself together. Lucy raised her hand up and pushed back pink hair, running her hand over scarred, tan skin in a silent reminder that she was still there. She was alive.

After twelve long days, Natsu couldn’t hold back anymore. He crumbled in front of her and released all of the fears that he had held, all of the anger and depression, the worry and anxiety that had been eating at him from the inside out. Lucy didn’t care that her pillowcase would have water stains on it later. She didn't care that he had hidden his face in the front of her pajama shirt. Natsu needed this and in some way, Lucy knew that she needed it too.

She soothed him quietly, let him shake in her arms and cry silently into her chest. She held him together so he could take the break he desperately needed. And that’s how they fell asleep, legs twisted together, holding fractured bodies in tight embraces and healing. They knew that something had changed between them when Natsu hadn’t bothered to get up and leave in the morning, even though a certain blue cat had found his way into the warm place between their stomachs.

“I refuse to let that happen to you again… I won’t stand there helpless.” Lucy had heard him say. She had been awake for a while now, just laying there and basking in the soft glow of the morning sunrise- in the warm hold of Natsu's arms around her waist. She believed in Natsu, knew that he would keep his promise to her.

For now, all that mattered to her was just staying there for as long as they could, enjoying the closeness and trying their best to accept the fact that this was only the start, that more would happen and that they would eventually have to make more hard choices to save the people they cared about. Including each other.


End file.
